Designing a Peer-to-Peer Wireless Network Confederation

1. Abstract:We make the case for a Global Confederation of Peer-to-Peer WLANs. This P2P Wireless Network Confederation (P2PWNC) is a community of administrative domains that offer wireless Internet access to each other’s registered users. Household hotspots represent the simplest form of P2PWNC domains. In contrast to centralized WISP roaming associations, the P2PWNC is a pure P2P community. Domains participating in the P2PWNC make independent decisions concerning the amount of resources that they contribute. Only flexible rules on reciprocity guide their local policies. Designing a Peer-to-Peer Wireless Network Confederation 1 What is a P2PWNC? 2 P2PWNC Distinctive Characteristics A Peer-to-Peer Wireless Network Confederation is a community of WLAN Domains that offer Internet access to each other's users. • Decentralization • Domains participating in the P2PWNC enjoy autonomy and independence from central authorities (it is a pure P2P system) • Low complexity • The P2PWNC is easy to join (minimal administrative overhead) • Similar to joining a P2P file-sharing network • Simplest case: a hotspot administrator only installs P2PWNC software • Rules on reciprocity: contribute in order to consume, or else… • Rules guide a domain’s bandwidth sharing policy and battle “free-riding” (i.e. the effect of having domains that do not share resources while their own users consume from other domains when they roam) AP AP AP AD ‘Blue’ AP AD ‘White’ AP AP AD ‘Green’ AP AP AP Household hotspots (such as AD ‘White’ here) represent the simplest form of P2PWNC domains. AD: Administrative Domain AP: WLAN Access Point : User WLAN view P2P view 3 P2PWNC Terminology 4 Usage Scenario Consuming Peer • 1. User visits peer domain • 2. Activates device • Any web-capable and WLAN-enabled terminal • 3. Uses P2PWNC ID to login • Home domain is contacted for user credential check • Home or visited domain may not allow request to proceed • Only if both domains agree will the user be offered service • 4. User accesses the Internet • Visited domain controls the user’s access rate • 5. User leaves or turns off device • P2PWNC distributed accounting records are updated… • … the records will be used as input in future domain decisions aueb.gr Providing Peer uni-bonn.de Elias C. Efstathiou and George C. Polyzos Department of Computer Science Athens University of Economics and Business efstath@aueb.gr Peers  Administrative Domains Home Domain Consuming Peer Visited Domain Providing Peer Registered Users: Unique P2PWNC ID ( username@home_domain_name ) 6 Prototype Administrator Console 5 The P2PWNC Software • Easy for hotspot administrators to install • Modules include: • Naming service • Supports logical, location-independent domain names (not just ‘uni-bonn.de’ but also ‘The_Smith_family_Bonn_hotspot’) • Authentication • Maintains a database of locally registered users and their passwords • Traffic policing • Logs and shapes visitor ingress and egress Internet traffic • Distributed accounting • The P2PWNC uses Distributed Hashtable technology to store usage accounting data in other P2PWNC peers while preserving security • - P2PWNC software runs on Linux 2.4 • It includes WLAN control functionality • All-in-one “box” version • will include: • - WLAN router • - DSL modem • - P2PWNC software 8 Summary 7 Open Issues • We proposed a novel P2P application as an alternative to WLAN roaming schemes and we implemented a working prototype. • We are currently working on • The P2PWNC Anonymity and Untraceability architecture • More efficient P2PWNC community rules based on economic models • Keep in touch • http://mm.aueb.gr - http://nes.aueb.gr - efstath@aueb.gr • http://www.mmapps.org (IST Project MMAPPS - Market Management of Peer-to-Peer Services) • 1. Offline domains • A user’s home domain may be offline (no consuming peer available to speak on the user’s behalf). Could another peer act as the peer’s home? • 2. The requirement for lightweight client devices • Special software may be required on the client device in order to verify received service levels authoritatively. Who else can independently observe the provider? • 3. Hide all complexity from administrators • Tune local contribution policy automatically (by weighing benefits and costs) • …while insuring the peer’s ability to consume as much as possible • Find optimal operating point